God, you don’t get a blog post for ages, and then, just like the 427 bus in Uxbridge, two come along at once! I’m going to hand you over to a rockstar no less. If you’ve read my comprehensive and rather fantastic interview last year with Nicky Wells, then you’ll know about Sophie’s Turn, and you’ll be familiar with this beast of a man. I’m reading Sophie’s Turn on my kindle at the moment, it’s really, really good – if you like romance and rock, I urge you to check it out. And it’s a trilogy and part two, Sophie’s Run is out now! So let me hand you over to Dan Hunter, the lead singer of Tuscq, and lean back and see what the man has to say for himself : )

*****

“Hi! I’m Dan Hunter, lead singer of legendary UK rock band Tuscq and romantic hero in the Rock Star Romance Trilogy by Nicky Wells. Sophie, Nicky and I, we’ve been touring these past few weeks, promoting the launch of book 2: Sophie’s Run.

Let me tell you, when Nicky proposed this tour, I rolled my eyes in despair. I love touring but I hate traveling. I know, that’s a bit of a problem for a rock star, right? But there it is. What do I hate about traveling? Let’s see.

~Airports. I can’t stand airports. The noise, the crowds, the checking in (and that’s with rock star fast-track treatment). The food. The waiting around. Agh.

~Transfers. You know, to and from places, airports, venues, whatever. These days, we usually end up in limos with blacked-out windows. That was exciting to begin with but the novelty has worn off.

~Hotels. There are two problems with hotels. One, they all start to resemble each other and it can be totally disorientating to wake up in the morning not knowing again where you are. And two, the beds. I never get on with hotel mattresses. Too hard, too soft, too lumpy. And don’t get me started on duvets ~ some hotels don’t have them. I know, it’s unbelievable but even the five star ones occasionally throw you a curve-ball with fancy blankets. Of course I could ask for a duvet. I could ask for almost anything and be given it, the way folks are fawning about us these days. But that’s not my style. When Tuscq first took off, I swore I was never going to turn into a bad-ass, bad-tempered demanding rock star.

So here are my top strategies for easing travel woes. I’m telling you this in secret. If word gets out, you’ll destroy my credibility!

~I keep a giant bar of Swiss chocolate in my luggage at all times and when the waiting around at the airport gets really tough, I go and eat.

~Unless it’s raining, I ask the driver to open the roof window so I can lay back and see blue sky. It can be a bit cold, of course, but the other band members don’t mind. (Darren quite enjoys doing the standing-up-on-a-seat-and-waving-at-passers-by act!)

~I have a snuggle blanket that I take with me everywhere. Don’t laugh! It’s only an inoffensive, small quilted blanket from a well-known build-your-own-Scandinavian-furniture store but it’s cheerful and… well, it smells of home, and the sense of smell is a powerful relaxant.

There. Thank you for listening, and a huge thanks to the Fabulous Yasmin Selena for hosting me here today! Now I’d love to hear from you ~ how do you get through your travel woes?”

Well you heard the man, how do you get through yours? And do you have a snuggle blanket?! Yasmin x x P.S. I am a bit fabulous ; )

Her famous star remains her rock while life takes her on a little detour…

Who says that the road towards true love is straight and even? Sophie is certainly discovering that it is anything but.

So she has finally found the man of her dreams! Well… she knows who he is, even though she hasn’t actually quite met him yet. But she misses her opportunity, and then her life goes crazy. Rock star and ex-fiancé, Dan, keeps getting in the way of her new romance—even if he is just trying to be helpful. A fire, an impromptu mini-trip with Dan, and a dreaded wedding later, Sophie is still struggling to meet the love of her life. Then, just as she is getting it together with her perfect man, best friend Rachel commits an act of unspeakable betrayal.

Sophie has had enough. Confused and distraught, she decides that it is time for radical change. Surprising herself and shocking her friends, she embarks on a secret journey and eventually gets her life back on track.

12 thoughts on “The Return of Nicky Wells: Dan Hunter’s Take on Traveling”

Whoooohooo! It’s such an honour to be back here today, Yasmin, thank you SO much for hosting this stop on the Sophie’s Run tour!! I hope your readers enjoy hearing about Dan’s travelling coping strategies and maybe share their own. I certainly will copy the chocolate one!! And while I don’t lug around a comfort blanket (largely due to luggage weight restrictions, LOL) I do always carry something with me to remind me of home. Rock on!!

My pleasure having you back Ms Wells, I was just thinking about the answer to Dan’s travel question. Let me see, for me, my must have from home when I’m on the road would be . . . my diary. I keep a page a day and have to have it with me. If I have my diary I can be home anywhere and deal with anything the road throws at me : ) The idea of being abroad without it fills me with horror!!! I’d feel positively bereft, eek, no, can’t even go there.. and I take pix with me to remind me who loves me back home, my MP3 player is a must have too,and also minature bottles of perfume. Scent makes me feel good, blocks out all bad smells and takes me to an oasis of calm. I like to travel light and find that the Lush Godiva shampoo bar is a godsend all in one – face, body, hair, scent – it’s amazing! And it lasts ages. Woe cannot exist with that combo in tow.. xx

Hi Yasmin and Nicky! I have read Gunshot Glitter and loved, loved it!! I will be talking about it on my blog as soon as I can find the time to get my blog up and going. In the meantime Yasmin, I am a HUGE fan so please let me know what I can do to spread the word?!?! And Nicky, because of this blog post the first 2 books of your trilogy are next on my list and I can’t wait to purchase them from Amazon!! When I travel by anything but air I always try to take my pillow and blanky with me. My blanky is special, my mother makes a new one for me when I need one and I have several for different kinds of weather. Sounds weird, but I am from Oklahoma, USA and the last thing you need in the hot summer is a heavy blanky! LOL Thank you for reading my comment……Terri

Terri, hi! It’s so lovely to hear from you! Glad you enjoyed GG ~ I loved it too, it’s an awesome book and I’ll keep an eye out for your review. Thank you for adding Sophie’s Turn and Sophie’s Run to your TBR, that makes my day! :-)

Last but not least, I’m thrilled that you can identify with Dan and his taking along of a comfort blanket, that’s just brilliant. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment, Terri, you rock! X :-)

Huge quickie, am shooting of to Day 2 of the London Book Fair, but just want to say a HUGE thank you for your lovely comment Terri, a review/blog on Gunshot Glitter would be awesome : ) Read your kind words with a massive smile. And do check out Nicky’s tome xx

Great post (this and the Marion Keyes one) – Sophie’s Run is on my TBR list as we speak. As for easing the pain of travelling – I have found nothing yet, absolutely nothing! Not even chocolate eases the pain! Woe is me when getting from A to B! xxx

Oh Shani, you poor thing! I don’t know what to suggest, and even Dan is stumped. Maybe a lovely light glass of wine might dull the pain, always assuming you’re not driving? XX Big hugs and thanks for commenting! XX

Cheers Shani glad you enjoyed the posts, can I suggest you keep a photo of Channing Tatum in your travel case with you to ease the travel ache? I’m sure if you’re smart you can print a still of his bare sweet hiney from Magic Mike lol xx

Good to hear from Dan, and love the snuggly blanket he has! A man of comforts, naturally. I

don’t travel often, Dan – not by anything but car, anyway – but when I did step out of my comfort zone last year and crossed the Channel in a ferry (twice, of course, as I had to come back!) then my tablet, with Kindle app, was THE most important thing!

Sophie’s Run is high on my TBR list so hope to get to it soon to see how life is treating the rock star and the girl next door!